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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Gingerbread Snack Mat

With the snow falling outside and the cold temperatures I've been feeling really festive which is perfect because I have some holiday sewing that needs my attention *grin*.

I started going through my holiday christmas fabrics and found an adorable charm pack of Kate Spain's 12 Days of Christmas and a bunch of other scraps and started cutting little 2.5 inch squares to make a cute quilted border for a set of gingerbread men snack mats I've been wanting to make. With all of my squares cut I sewed strips of 5 blocks together using a quarter inch seam and then sewed it onto a 6.5 x 10.25 inch rectangle of natural unbleached muslin.

I can't claim this idea as my own though as I actually saw a photo of it on Flickr first but for the life of me I can't find it again to share a link to the original. So if you know who created this first I would love to know so I can give them credit :)

Then with a little paper gingerbread man that I had traced from a cookie cutter I copied him over and over onto the backing of my Heat N' Bond ultrahold that was going to be my glue for my applique work. This stuff is great for quick and easy applique projects :) Just iron it onto your fabric, cut and place it on your project and iron once more for a secure stick.

I love the natural look of the muslin and wanted to incorporate burlap into my mats to but burlap tends to unravel if it isn't stitched down well and washing can be tricky but I was crossing my fingers that the heat n' bond would do the trick. So I did a little test patch taking a chunk of burlap, gluing it onto some scrap cotton and it stuck on like a hot damn. Oh my goodness, that burlap is not going to move!

So with all of my little men positioned on my snack mat tops I took a dry iron to them and set them permanently in place. Just to be on the safe side I did topstitch all of them though so that they would make it through a round or ten in the washing machine *grin*.

With the addition of a little bit of adorably cute mini ric rac for their icing they were complete and ready to be sandwiched between a layer of organic wool batting and an 8.5 x 10.25 inch rectangle of muslin that created the backing to my snack mat. Using a 1/4 inch seam I stitched all around the outside leaving roughly a 3 inch opening at the bottom so that I could turn the whole thing right side out to be pressed and finished off with a topstitch all around the perimeter :)

I just love how they turned out and can't wait to make a few more because these ones were actually destined for a seasonal swap the kids and I participate in and are already wrapped up and on their way down to the US where they will be swapped around with other wonderful goodies and in return we will have a new little box full of all sorts of homemade goodness just in time for the holidays. I can't wait :)

9 comments:

Those are adorable. I love burlap too. It's just so homey looking. Hey, look, my beautiful ornament you made is in one of the pictures down the bottom. I can't wait to take it out this year! Have you made one for yourself yet? I hope you will find time!

wow what an adorable little set of placemats! someone at that swap is going to be very lucky! i hope you bring something half as cute and well made home! i have yet to learn to sew but you really inspire me... knitting is all for now - but, there's so much to be knit!

You just solved my problem of what kind of snack mats to make for my granddaughters preschool teachers! I have been looking for 2 weeks for just the right thing and this is it. I'm a loyal follower now that I have found you.Mary Beth

Hello from Canada! I am a homeschooling mom to 3 very rambunctious children ages 13, 8 & 5 years old while holding down the fort as tug boat captain 'Dad' sails the seven seas *grin*. We're located on 40 acres in a tiny rural community in beautiful British Columbia and this is my quirky journal about our homeschool journey, crafting, running my home based business 'RosyUndPosy' making 'Eco Friendly Bags 4 Green Living', and everyday life home on the farm. Hope you enjoy your visit :)

Links to my articles are always lovely but if you would like to share a few of my photos on your blog or website *please* add a photo credit and a link back to me with use. Email me if you have any questions. Thank you. merosy1 (at) yahoo (dot) ca